The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-05-04
The Gas Boom at Sruncie.

special Correspondence indianapolis Journal
MuNcIE, May al am here among the fire.
worshipers. The Ghebers' holy flame is not
more treasured by it's devorees than is Munce's
great gift by her fortunate citizens. No place
in the Indiana gas belt to-day makes the full,
complete and satisfactory showing of this
derful fuel. natural gas, that is made by Muncie.
In the business streets. day and night, great
torches, two-inch iron pipes running up forty
five or fifty feet in the air, with short cross
piece with openings, from each of which comes
a mighty plume of flame. These, caught by the
air, are whirled in strange, fantastic wreaths of
ever-changing forms. They and crackle
like the cheerful blaze of an old-fashioned hick-
ory-fed Ere. but with the CHEEKY sounds magni-
fed many hundredfold, and with a candle power
that goes SO far into the hundreds of thousands
that calculation can reach it. At times these
great jets Of flame, usually white and rose
colored, take a golden hue. and stream out in
fagike folds against the sky-the orihamme
which this enterprising city of eight thousand
people waves to the business world. 1t is such
bright clean place that it will even bear all the
elowi-,. light these great torches throw upon it.
The entir- city appears TO have been repanted,
and every cottage rejoices in new and pictur-
esque suit OF colors.
If thou wouldst view fair Muncie Alright.
Go visit it by nature gas light
Last october the nrSt gas well was struck, east
of the city. 1t was a success. and from time to
time since wells have been struck. until there
six flowing wells Three of these
supplying the factories of the place and dwell
ings. there being five hundred private consumers.
With the exception of single saw-mill, every
mill and factory about Muncie is run by natural
gas. Factories that short time ago were at an
outlay or $40 and Sl2 day for fuel are now at
an expense OF only 81 a day. Boyce's electric
light plant, which, before the introduction of
gas was at daily expense of $l3 for fuel and
handling. Is now run by engineer and me-
chanic. the natural gas costing but 81 a day.
The Muncie bagging factory employs175 opera
tives and is run by a l50horse power engine
The gas that is let into each of the two
furnaces under the boilers is fed through hole
only fiye-sxteenths of an inch in diameter. The
gray haired engineer is delighted. There is
dust, no dirt, shoveling Of coal or carving
away of ashes. and all about the boilers and en-
CINE room is as tidy a well-kept kitchen. This
factory IN It's way Is something of a novelty
There but five such in the United States
They use iute from lndia for manufacturing bag
ging for baling cotton and their product all goes
to the South. Muncie in her various factories
now employs thousand operatives. The In
diana bridge works. which removed TO Muncie
from Indianapolis last winter now gets natural
for all purposes At Sl2 a month The arti-
hcial asworks OF the place now uses 40 per cent
OF natural gas in their mixture for Illuminating
gas. They also natural gas under
their retorts for fuel purposes. thereby
recommendation for natural gas for heating
boilers is its regularity of heat An engineer can
start in with sixty pounds pressure on the steam
gauge In the morning and can hold il there
varied, all day long The r-works com
pany. before the introduction of the natural gas,
spent over 81, 500 year on coal. They put down a
gas we'll and now run their machinery for moth
ing Ii costs from 80 600 81, 300 to have a we'll
bored and fitted ready for
The wells are distributed over aterritory more
than two miles in extent, demonstrating the fact
that the cas- territory, so far Muncie is con-
cerned. Is unlimited. 1t II admitted fact,
among those informed upon the subject that in
nj I'm
the how OF gas must sooner or later be overcome
as the salt water will drown" the gas The